"Under the previous version of the Rules, employees were required to provide 24 hours' notice before taking each day of intermittent PLO leave. OED removed this notice requirement, explaining that the PLO statute does not currently give OED authority to establish it. Requirements for when employees must notify employers of changes to leave dates were also removed for the same reason. Removal of these provisions creates challenges for employers attempting to plan for an employee's use of PLO leave." MORE >>
"It is critical for covered entities to understand what state laws, if any, may impose additional obligations upon them, and that merely complying with HIPAA is not enough. This is made even more important by the raft of state-specific privacy protection laws that states across the country have implemented within the last decade. The examples [in this article] illustrate when and where state law may impose burdens more demanding than HIPAA and the Privacy Rule, but also note where HIPAA preempts other, conflicting state laws." MORE >>
"Beginning Feb. 22, 2026, most employers in New York City must provide 32 hours of unpaid sick and safe leave.... [E]mployers must separately track and report paid sick and safe leave, unpaid sick and safe leave, and prenatal leave on pay stubs and maintain related records for at least three years.... Employers that fail to provide required sick and safe leave may be required to restore leave hours and pay $500 per employee per calendar year for each year a noncompliant policy was in effect." MORE >>
"The emergency declaration triggers the special five-day paid leave requirements and remains in effect until the national emergency has ended.... After the covered employee exhausts accrued sick leave and other available leave, employers must provide up to five additional days of paid sick leave to employees who have influenza or are suspected of having influenza during the emergency." MORE >>
"One of the most significant and potentially complex changes brought by the amendments is the creation of new job-protection rights for employees who take leave for their own medical condition while receiving Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) or Family Leave Insurance (FLI) benefits.... Employees now have expanded rights to determine which state benefits to use -- and the order in which to use them -- particularly when they qualify simultaneously for paid sick leave, TDI, or FLI benefits. This increased employee choice complicates employer leave administration." MORE >>
"The Appellate Division affirmed that a concrete supplier's paid leave policy violated several sections of the ESLL, including notice and recordkeeping requirements and providing paid sick leave, and that the company did not fall within the ESLL's 'construction industry' exemption.... This decision clarifies important questions for employers about the ESLL exemptions, the financial risks of noncompliance, and how groups of workers can assert their rights under the statute without the need for a class action." [Cano and Bonelli v. County Concrete Corp., No. A-0056-24 (Sup. Ct. N.J. App. Div. Jan. 28, 2026)] MORE >>
"Following Arkansas's efforts last year, several states are considering or advancing proposals that would restrict or prohibit [PBMs] and affiliated entities from owning or controlling pharmacies. While the proposals vary in structure and timing, each reflects ongoing state‑level interest in limiting PBM pharmacy ownership, with some measures drawing from aspects of the Arkansas approach." MORE >>
"An expansion of the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act will take effect February 22....[E]mployers in the City will be required to allow employees to use ESSTA leave for these additional reasons: [1] To provide care for a minor child or care recipient. [2] To attend legal proceedings for subsistence benefits or housing. [3] For certain reasons related to a public disaster or workplace violence." MORE >>
"PMCA's arguments in favor of ERISA preemption of the fiduciary standards provision for self-funded employer plans center around three main points: [1] It makes an impermissible reference to ERISA plans because it specifically references 'self-insured employer plans'; p2[ It regulates in a field already fully occupied by federal standards ... and [3] It requires plan sponsors to design or structure their plan in a particular way[.]" [Pharmaceutical Care Management Association v. Bonta, No. 26-0012 (C.D. Calif. complaint filed Jan. 2, 2026)] MORE >>
"While Minnesota’s Paid Leave statute covers certain personal safety events (e.g., domestic violence and stalking), it does not include language explicitly providing leave for fear of general civil unrest or public safety threats tied to protests or law enforcement operations." MORE >>
"Maine's paid family and medical leave (PFML) program will begin paying benefits on May 1, 2026. Employers with at least one employee in Maine began making contributions to the PFML fund in January 2025 through employee payroll deductions and employer contributions. On January 20, 2026, the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority announced that the fund was sufficiently solvent to make benefits available to 'most Mainers,' effective May 1, 2026." MORE >>
"[T]he NJFLA's employer‑coverage threshold will decrease from 30 employees to 15 employees anywhere, reflecting a substantial change for small employers ... Employers newly covered by the statute must implement comprehensive NJFLA processes for the first time, including notice requirements, documentation protocols, anti‑retaliation protections, and reinstatement obligations, before July 17, 2026." MORE >>
"The new legislation significantly expands the leave-related obligations of New Jersey employers. Moreover, the potential link between TDI and FLI benefits and job restoration introduces uncertainty for employers managing medical leaves that extend beyond current legal entitlements." MORE >>
"The special leave applies only to non-exempt employees who have used all their regular accrued sick and vacation leave and are still unable to work due to the illness or suspected illness that prompted the emergency (in this case, the flu).... Up to five paid working days are available per eligible employee during the declared emergency." MORE >>
"Effective January 1, 2026, the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act increased the amount of sick time employers of all sizes must provide to their employees annually. The new ordinance implemented faster accrual rates and increased hour requirements for employees working within the geographic boundaries of the City of Pittsburgh....[T]he Allegheny Paid Sick Days Act has yet to update, making compliance for employers challenging." MORE >>
"Starting February 22, 2026, employees will be able to use safe/sick leave for additional reasons ... [and] employers must provide all employees and new hires with an additional 32 hours of unpaid sick/safe time.... The expansion of these regulations comes on the heels of the City's amendment to ESSTA regulations that require employers to provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave to eligible employees." MORE >>
"The Mississippi Legislature reintroduced legislation that would establish a state-run program to offer Roth individual retirement accounts and other after-tax contribution vehicles to provide coverage for private sector workers who lack access to retirement plans through their employers." MORE >>
"This leave provides up to five paid working days for employees who suffer from, or are suspected of suffering from, the illness or epidemic that gives rise to the state of emergency, in this case, the influenza virus, and must have exhausted all leave to which they were entitled. That is, the employee must have exhausted both vacation leave and regular sick leave before being eligible to use this special leave. Employers must ensure that this new paid leave is recognized in applicable cases." MORE >>
"Employees are now eligible for PFML leave in a given week only if they are absent at least four consecutive scheduled work hours.... The new law changed which employers are covered ... [E]mployers may limit the ability of employees to extend their leave by stacking PFML and FMLA leave ... Employers must now maintain health insurance coverage for all employees who take PFML leave during their period of PFML job protection, as if they were still working." MORE >>
"Colorado added paid Neonatal Care Leave to its FAMLI program effective January 1, 2026, covering parents of newborns admitted to a neonatal unit or a higher level of care. Eligible parents may take up to 12 weeks of paid Neonatal Care Leave, available only while the newborn remains hospitalized. Neonatal Care Leave is in addition to existing FAMLI benefits." MORE >>
"This alert describes upcoming reporting deadlines under the [ACA] and under state laws that require similar reporting.... With respect to health coverage in 2025, the ACA deadlines range from February 28, 2026 to March 31, 2026, and the state deadlines range from January 31, 2026 to April 30, 2026." MORE >>
"Effective Feb. 22, 2026, employers must frontload at least 32 hours of unpaid ESSTA leave upon hire and on the first day of each calendar year. This unpaid ESSTA leave is in addition to existing paid ESSTA leave accruals that apply to all employees (one hour of safe/sick leave for every 30 hours worked up to 40 or 56 hours, depending on employer size).... In addition to adding more ESSTA leave, the amended law broadens covered uses for paid and unpaid ESSTA." MORE >>
"When the amendments take effect in six months, thousands of currently exempt small employers will be required to grant employees twelve weeks of annual job-protected family leave, and, seemingly, both large and small employers alike will be required to grant job-protected medical leave, creating an entirely new state law leave entitlement." MORE >>
"Smaller businesses will soon be covered by the NJFLA ... More employees will qualify for NJFLA leave ...Change impacting temporary disability rules ... More employee choice when multiple types of leave available." MORE >>
"In 2025, a total of 26 states enacted legislation regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Although the content of the legislation varies among states, there is a consensus to increase transparency and lower prescription drug costs. This article explains current state legislative trends affecting PBMs." MORE >>
